June 2006 Archives

The Bible has been the book with the greatest impact on my life.  I try to read it every day and I never fail to find direction and encouragement there.

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Funny, I was just complaining to my oldest daughter about this the other day. I have been recently-ish told I look like two different celebrities... Camryn Mannheim and Mary (of Peter, Paul and Mary). And what I said to my dd about that was, "Grrr. I get it, people!! I'm fat and I have long hair! Where the rest of the resemblance comes from is a mystery to me."  In another mysterious twist, myheritage.com says I most resemble... drum roll please... Jamie Lynn Spears.  Holy. Cow.

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Going on the theory of "what's his is mine", the oldest thing "I" own is a 1748 Spanish Real that dh dug up (while metal-detecting) near where we live in Virginia.  Oh, and also an 18th century shoe buckle and breeches buckle... just not sure which is oldest.  All of our oldest possessions are the result of dh's relic hunting hobby and interest in local history.  They also include a great quantity of civil war bullets, uniform buttons, and sundry accoutrements too tedious to mention.  The coolest old thing we have, IMO, is a broken silver spoon engraved with a soldier's name.  It was found in an area where the 4th Alabama infantry was known to have camped and, sure enough, we found his name on the 4th Ala. roster.  I love old things because they represent REAL lives of REAL people.  ;-)

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Entertainment: Vox ;-) and Kingdom of Heaven (Director's Cut)
Cerebral Stimulation: MT3.3 beta testing
Nutrition: Guapo's
Exercise: Guapo's (just kidding... I'll probably hit the pool)
Shopping: Espresso beans and art supplies
Celebrating: Father's Day with dh, kids and grandkids (Oh, poo!! In my rushing around to do stuff for dh and son-in-law, I forgot to send my own father a card! I'm such a loser!)

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reposting from another blog...

Events

• 1600 - British East India Company is chartered.
• 1775 - American Revolutionary War: British forces repulse an attack by Continental Army generals Richard Montgomery and Benedict Arnold at the Battle of Quebec.
• 1879 - Thomas Edison demonstrates incandescent lighting to the public for the first time.

Important Birthdays

• 1491 - Jacques Cartier, French explorer
  
• 1738 - Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis
• 1926 - He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named  ;-)
  

Interesting* Death

• 1384 - John Wycliffe, English theologian and Bible translator

Holiday

• New Year's Eve!!

I'll let you guess as to my birthday. 

You can play, too.  Just pass this on....
The instructions:

1. Go to Wikipedia.
2. In the search box, type your birth month and day (but not year).
3. List three events that happened on your birthday.
4. List two important birthdays and one interesting* death.
5. List one holiday or observance (if any).

*What the heck is meant by "interesting death"?  Um... death by spontaneous human combustion? drowning in molasses? Whatever...I'm going with "death of interesting person". ;-)

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We are still enjoying DIVINE weather in Virginia as we make our way into June, but I am bracing myself for the usual summer steam ahead.  Just around the corner are weeks of hot and muggy days which tend to suck the energy right of you.  Our "tried and true" remedy south of the Mason-Dixon Line is Southern Sweet Iced Tea.  Here is how I make a heavenly batch...

• 4 or 5 Luzianne Family Tea Bags (or 8 - 10 regular size)
• 1 cup Dixie Crystals granulated sugar (or less - to taste)
  
• 3 or 4 trays of ice cubes (about 1 quart)
  

I fill my favorite tea kettle with fresh, filtered water and set it on high.

As soon as it gets to a good rolling boil, I pour all the water into a gallon pitcher then drop my tea bags into the water.  (You can pour the boiling water over the tea bags, but I find they usually burst open when I do that.)

Steep tea for exactly 3 - 5 minutes!!  My personal preference is to steep 5 minutes for sweet tea, which allows a well-defined flavor to come through the sweetness, but is not overly strong.

After steeping, squeeze then remove the tea bags.

Stir sugar into hot tea.

IMMEDIATELY drop in all the ice!!  Yes, right into the HOT tea!  The ice "shocks" the tea into perfectly sparkling clarity.  The color will be a beautiful reddish amber -- it should stay clear and not get cloudy. 

Serve over ice in a tall glass... kick your feet up on the front porch and ENJOY!!

It's heaven in a pitcher, y'all !!

Sometimes I like to throw in a splash of Torani 's Pomegranate Syrup and a lime wedge for a perfectly refreshing balance of sweet and tart.  (If I plan to serve tea with fruit syrups I use less sugar in my recipe.)

Here's a yummy twist for the adventurous... Bourbon Street Iced Tea

Dixie Crystals Blues

Just for fun...

Sweet Tea

 More Sweet Tea for your listening pleasure. :-)

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